Origins: Alone in a Crowd
by WitchMagpie
Summary: On break planning an Oct wedding. Will resume Nov07. You would think that being born into wealth, power and priviledge would make someone happy So why is Akito so hateful?
1. Chapter 1

**Prologue**

She had not always been so bitter, so filled with pain and anger. She could still remember a time when her father had held her in his lap, stroked her smooth, black hair back out of her eyes, and reassured her that she was special and that she would always be loved. She remembered what it felt like to be cherished, to feel validated. Ironically, it was her memories of being loved that incited her to such a terrible and frightening rage.

It was as though the vacuum left by her father's death drew in nothing by fiery, blind rage. Night and day, she sat isolated in her room seething with impotent fury. But buried in the ashes beneath the angry pain in her heart were the cold ache of loneliness and the fear of rejection.

She still remembered the night he had died. She had been so young then, not more than three, and she was really too young to fully comprehend the gravity of the situation as it unfolded. She remembered the hushed and worried tones of the adults around her as they scurried from room to room in the compound. It was all so foreign in comparison to the attention and love that was regularly lavished on her by her father. All of her pain originated in that single night.

**Chapter 1**

She was growing uneasy. Servants were running about the house in a frenetic, scattered manner. And unlike his normal habit, her father had not spent any time with her today. Unused to the lack of doting attention, she tried to grab the hand of one of the servants as they passed where she sat; but the woman didn't spare her a glance and continued to rush on her way through the room. Feeling a little shocked and disconcerted by the woman's lack of concern for her, she crawled off of the cushion she had sat upon and she began to toddle towards her father's room; but as she entered through the door, her mother, Ren, saw her.

"Get her out of here! She'll only make things worse!" Ren hissed in a spiteful tone. " It's that little bitch's fault that my husband lies here dying!"

"Dying?" she thought. She wasn't certain what dying meant, but in the light of everyone's strange, frightening behaviors and her mother's hostility, it could not be good. Why wasn't father sitting up in bed? Why wasn't he calling to her to come sit with him? One of the servants came to her and picked her up. 

The serving women lifted her up and began to carry her out, giving her young charge a heightened vantage point from which to view the scene; her father, Akira, was lying very still in the bed. His skin was very pale and his chest scarcely rose and fell with each of his breaths. Numerous doctors and her mother hovered over Akira, trying to find a way to assist the man. Ren looked up at her as the woman carried her out of the room; her mother had never been particularly loving, but she was frightened by the hate she saw flaring in Ren's eyes. 

"If he dies, it will be your fault. And everyone will hate you. You will never be special and no one will ever love you again," her mother said venomously. 

The serving woman carried her back to her room and set her down on the bed and then quietly closed the door and left her alone. She sat there alone on the bed and she began to shake. She knew that something was terribly wrong with her father and she was very frightened that it was her fault. She was not certain what she had done to make her father so pale and still, but she was very scared that she would never see him again! 

She began crying and she crawled off her bed and went to her door. As she pulled the sliding door open, she heard her mother begin screaming and wailing. It was a terrible, piercing sound that seemed to tear through the rice paper of her door, shred her eardrums, and freeze her heart within her chest. Her mother screams continued until they degenerated into guttural, wrenching moans. She was mostly incoherent, but a few words were intelligible. She heard Ren cry out her father's name repeatedly.

"Akira!" Ren would scream and then descend into wracking sobs. Terrified by her mother's screaming, she slipped out the door and pulled it shut behind her. She ran down the hallway towards her father's room. She slowed as she neared the doorway to her father's sitting room. 

The servants were mostly gone, leaving only Ren's personal assistant and the small cadre of doctors who had been with Akira. Ren's assistant was holding Ren, who was clinging to her sobbing. The doctors were trying to speak to Ren, but she ignored them and continued to sob.

Worried about her father, she crept closer to the room, trying to catch a glimpse of him. She tread softly on a floorboard and it emitted a loud creak. Ren looked up at her with baleful, red rimmed eyes.

"You!" she hissed. "You stupid little, worthless cunt. You pathetic, disgusting bitch." Faced with the utter loathing and hostility of her mother, she tried to move, but she was frozen with fear as she looked into her mother's red and swollen face.

"You killed him!" Ren's voice rose and became shrill. "You worthless piece of shit! You're not special! You sucked the life force right out of him and killed him! You vampiric parasite! You aren't even a proper heir to the family! You are an evil, disgusting slut!"

Ren began shaking with the force of her rage. She leaped up and lunged at her daughter, and struck her hard across the face. She felt her head fly back with the stinging force of her mother's blow and she hit the wall and fell to the floor. Ren lunged at her again but she was grabbed by two of the doctors before she could harm the child further. She began screaming hysterically until one of the doctors stabbed a hypodermic needle into her arm. Her struggles grew less violent until she went limp.

The doctor who had drugged Ren ran to where the small girl lay on the ground crying. She looked up at him with all the confusion and pain of a small child who was terrified beyond reason. She cowered as he leaned down and reached for her. He lifted her up and held her, rubbing her back in a soothing, comforting manner.

"Someone needs to take care of the child until Ren has recovered." He said quietly. He continued to rock and pat the child who was quietly whimpering against his chest. 

"Kurosawa," said one of his colleagues, "your son and you were favored by Akira-kun. You would be the most appropriate choice for caring for young Sohma-san." 

The doctor bowed his head in assent. The other doctors carried Ren to her room and instructed her assistant to care for her. Kurosawa looked down at the shaking toddler in his arms. She looked up into his eyes and then she looked over at the bed where her father lay. 

"Akira-kun has died, Sohma-san. Your father will no longer be able to walk or talk. He has gone to join the ancestors," Kurosawa said softly. She just sat there mute in his arms with tears streaming down her face. Kurosawa carried her out of the room and brought her to his home in the Sohma compound.

He told his wife, "Sohma Akira has passed away. We are to watch over his daughter until her mother, Ren, is able to do so once more." Their son, Hatori, and his cousin, Shigure, sat quietly watching. She turned to look at the two boys. A thrill of recognition ran through her veins and into her heart. The two boys felt it to, and their eyes welled up with tears. She reached her arms out and Shigure walked over and took her from Kurosawa.

She nestled her head down on Shigure's shoulder, and for the first time that night, she felt safe. It couldn't erase the horror of her mother's rejection of her or that of her father's death, but it did quiet her fears that no one loved her. She knew that so long as the Juuneshi bond that her father had told her of was in effect, she would always be loved and she would never be alone. Her mother was wrong; she was special. To the members of the Juuneshi, she was God. Her father had told her so.

"It's okay, Akito," murmured Shirgure. "We will take care of you, won't we Ha'ri?" Hatori nodded his assent, and he awkwardly patted her on the head. "We will always love you."

Akito raised her head and looked directly into Shigure's eyes. "Do you promise?" she said quietly, "You'll never leave me? You will always love me?" Her lower lip quivered as she spoke. She feared hearing the answer. 

Shigure looked back into her eyes steadily. "I will always love you." And he hugged her tightly. She smiled and closed her eyes. Her father may have left her, but Shigure loved her. He would be there for her. 


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note: Please realize that my story development is moving slowly. There is no romance yet...I am working up to it. Lemons don't happen in a vacuum...you need to work up to it! Otherwise it's nothing more than a literary porno (which is okay if that's all you want...I personally want more out of a story!) Review if you like it and want to read more.**

**Chapter 2**

Akito spent that first night after Akira's death in the home of Kurosawa Sohma. However, the following day, arrangements were made to have Akito cared for by servants in the main house. Kurosawa disapproved, but did not raise any objections. Speaking privately to his family, he said, "…Akito should be raised in a more normal, supportive environment. She has just lost a parent; she doesn't need servants, she needs reassurance that she is loved and that Akira's death was not her fault."

Instead, Akito spent her days with her silently obeisant servants. Her food and comfort were well cared for; but Akito was lonely. The servants were attentive to her physical needs, but did little to make her feel cherished and loved. They did not play games or read her stories. They agreed with all she said. She missed her father's humor and teasing painfully. Her loneliness was only alleviated when the juuneshi would come to visit her. With them, she could feel the blood bond, the vibrant, pulsing, electrical connection between their souls and hers.

She especially looked forward to seeing Shigure. Although he was roughly eight years older than her, she found herself more drawn to him than any of her other cousins. Shigure was playful and witty without the vapid egoism of Ayame. He was also terribly clever with a dry sense of humor without being so introverted and withdrawn like Hatori. And unlike the gentle acceptance of Kureno, Shigure would tease her and torment her until she would fly into a rage and attack him; but she loved him for the attention. Shigure seemed alive, and he brought her to life when she was with him.

Those first few months, it was Shigure's efforts to both provoke and comfort her that kept Akito whole. The benign negligence of the servants and the outright hostility of her mother were painful and damaging to her emerging idea of selfhood. Deep inside, Akito questioned herself and wondered what she had done to kill her father and earn her mother's hatred. Like all children, "God" or not, she was unable to separate her self identity from the negative judgments of her mother. She believed herself to be a wicked, terrible person who killed her father. She must be horrible if her mother did not love her, right?

Sometimes when Shigure would come to visit her and they were tired from wrestling and playing, she would whisper to Shigure that she was a bad person. She would tell him how her mother told her that she had killed her father. Being just a child himself and not knowing what to say, Shigure would hold her close and tell her that it was alright, he loved her no matter what. And during those times, that was enough. She could bear anything, just so long as someone loved her.

Even when Ren decided that Akito must be raised as a boy in order to disguise the shame of a female head of the Sohma family, Akito still was able to keep her spirits up because of Shigure. He comforted her after a hateful and laughing Ren cut off Akito's long, black hair to facilitate Akito's transformation into a boy. With Shigure's affections, Akito was convinced she could bear anything.  
In her emotional dependency on Shigure, she began to nurture a childish crush on him. She assigned romantic meaning to his pledges of affection and she imagined a time when they were adults and could be married. Ayame and Hatori teased Shigure about his pre-school girl-friend, but Shigure shrugged it off good-naturedly. He did have a genuine affection for the young girl, and he could see a measure of his own feelings of loss and abandonment in her suffering.

For several months, Shigure would come over and accompany Akito in exile in her secluded suite in the main house. Toward the end of the summer, Shigure shared with Akito that the advent of the school year was rapidly approaching.

"A week from tomorrow, I won't be able to come and visit you all day anymore, Akito-kun," Shigure said lightly. Akito looked up at him with stricken eyes.

"It's because I'm bad isn't it?" she whispered, her eyes pooling with tears. "You don't love me anymore because I killed Daddy, do you? Don't leave me Shigure-san!" She began to cry with the ferocity and abandon that only the very young can manage. Shigure wrapped his arms around her and he began to stroke her hair.

"Silly Akito-chan! You are not a wicked person and I certainly don't think you killed your father. Even Ha'ari's father says you couldn't have killed Akira-san. Akira-san was often ill, even from the time he was very young" He pressed his lips against her forehead and continued to hold the sobbing child. "I have to go to school Akito. I am starting the seventh grade along with Aya and Ha'ari. It is not my choice to leave, it is just something I have to do." Akito raised her head and looked at him through her tears.

"Will you come see me when you come home?" she said. "You won't forget about me will you, Shigure?" Shigure laughed and hugged her tight. Of course I will come see you. I told you I would always be there for you!" Akito smiled a small, wan smile and tried to resign herself to the idea of long lonely days without Shigure or the other juuneshi to play with.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3-I'm posting this new chapter for Loriakitochan since she asked me to update. Thanks for the review! ;D I do not own Fruits Basket**

Akito suffered great loneliness with Shigure, Hatori, Kureno and Ayame away at school. She took her frustration out on her servants; each time her will would be thwarted, she would lash out violently at them with her nails, kicking and scratching them until she could be restrained. When told of her daughter's behavior, Ren was predictably unconcerned.  
"The little bitch is a life sucking demon; what do you expect?" she laughed. Kurosawa pressed her for some sort of decision.  
"Her violence is going to result in a lawsuit for the family. As her mother, you need to do something about this," Kurosawa said forcefully. Ren looked at him, smiling lazily from the sofa where she reclined.  
"Well, Kurosawa, you have been awfully concerned about Akito lately. Why don't you do something about it? I really don't care if she lives or dies. She was a toy for Akira while he lived. She should have died with him; she's not necessary now." Ren picked up the magazine she had been perusing, and she began reading again. Kurosawa's face hardened.  
"If you cannot control your own child, if you cannot mother the girl you birthed, then I question your place in this family, Ren. As you know, you were not the favored choice of bride for Akira. If it was not for the support of myself and some of the other younger members of the Sohmas, you would not be enjoying your current wealth and status. With Akira dead and Akito neglected, remind me again why we suffer your presence?" Ren threw down her magazine and sprang to her feet, interrupting Kurosawa.

"Is that an implied threat, Kurosawa?" she hissed at the doctor. "What are you and your pathetic brothers going to do, evict the head of the household's mother?" She laughed wickedly. "You are all like a bunch of dogs with no teeth! You bark and snarl, but can do very little real damage. And yet, I will go along with you in this case. I will arrange something so Akito is occupied and doesn't trouble the help further. We don't want our dear, "special" head of the family being unhappy in any way, do we? And even more importantly, we can't let the precious Sohma name be sullied further than my presence among you already has accomplished." she said sarcastically.  
Kurosawa looked at her with no expression on his face. Then he bowed and left the room. Ren got up and walked to her dressing room. She had an idea of how to handle this latest problem with the brat. Even with her limited ability to empathize with the feelings of others, Ren recognized that Akito's behavior was from loneliness. She would arrange for one of the younger juuneshi to be kept with Akito all the time; maybe Mitsune's son, the one who was the rat. Mitsune was always trying to suck up to Ren, she probably wouldn't hesitate to trade her youngest son for wealth and status. She walked through the main house, entering into Akito's suite. The girl sat in the window, leaning on the sill and watching the birds. She did not turn in acknowledgement of Ren's entry.  
"So, "God" is bored and lonely," Ren said in a mocking voice. "Why don't you just call the juuneshi to you, Akito? I thought that they would always be there for you and never leave you?" She taunted. Akito bit her lip to keep from crying at her mother's harsh words.   
"What, no answer? Could it be that there is no "bond" holding them to you? That you really are an incredibly, ordinary girl…no one special at all?" Akito turned and faced her mother, tears streaming down her face.  
"You don't know!" she screamed. "You can't even begin to understand the bond between God and the juuneshi!" Akito was shaking with rage as she stood there before her mother, her tiny fists balled up and clenched with fury. Ren just laughed a low, evil laugh.

"Oh Akito, you really don't know do you? You don't have a _real_ bond with the juuneshi. Akira and I had a real bond, a love that you and the juuneshi couldn't even dream of. You aren't "God," you are nothing. You are less than nothing. When Akira died, you should have died too. You are a murdering piece of shit. If it wasn't for you, Akira would still be living. You aren't God; you are completely unnecessary and worthless. Even the juuneshi know this and they will leave you and you will be completely alone. No one loves you. There will be no one there to save you from your pathetic, worthless life." Akito was shaking, her face contorting with the effort of not breaking into sobs. Ren smiled cruelly at her, enjoying the child's misery.  
Akito could not hold her sobs back and she began screaming and sobbing. "Why do you hate me so much? Why don't you love me? Father loved me! Why don't you?" She collapsed in a heap on the floor crying deep, wrenching sobs, her face buried in her hands. Ren walked to the child, stopping right before her.  
"Because you are a filthy piece of shit that doesn't deserve to be loved. You should be dead. You were nothing but a diversion for Akira, something to keep his mind off his illnesses. You are a toy that should have been thrown in the trash long ago." Ren turned and walked out of the room leaving the girl crying and alone. Ren smiled to herself as she left to go to Mitsune's house. In spite of Kurosawa's interference, it was turning out to be a very good day.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4-I do not own Fruits Basket**

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It was surprisingly easy for Ren to convince Sohma Mitsune to give the boy to Akito. Mitsune was precisely the sort of self-serving social climber that would sell her soul for prestige and power. She was more than willing to give full custody of her youngest son to the head of the family in exchange for an open ended line of credit and a larger house in the Sohma compound.  
"It really is an honor, Sohma Ren-sama, that you would ask for my son Yuki to be Sohma Akito-san's companion." Mitsune smiled ingratiatingly to Ren. Ren smiled pleasantly at Mitsune while inwardly imagining slitting the fawning sycophant's throat.

"Yes, with Yuki being just a little bit younger than Akito, it will work out very nicely. Akito needs someone to keep him occupied. He has entirely too much time on his hands to think up mischief. Your son Yuki, he's a quiet child is he not?"  
"Oh yes, Sohma-sama, Yuki is the model of decorum. He is very quiet. You won't even know he is there." Mitsune quickly asserted. "I will make certain he knows that he is to be quiet and obedient at all times."

"Good," Ren said distractedly. God she was getting tired of this foolish woman and her inane nattering. "The account will be opened up and available to you by this time tomorrow. I trust that will be fine with you?" Mitsune's eyes glittered greedily.

"Indeed, Sohma-sama, that will be fine," she hesitated before proceeding. "And the house…?" Mitsune let her question trail off. Ren waved her hand dismissively at Mitsune.

"Yes, yes, of course. The house is already vacant. I will have my servants deliver the keys to you immediately." She looked at Mitsune with an annoyed expression her face. Now that she had what she wanted, she was eager to conclude this unpleasant interview with the mercenary wench. "You will bring the boy over promptly?" Mitsune nodded, "As you soon as you wish Sohma-sama."

"Tomorrow morning at nine o'clock would be fine, Mitsune. We will see you then." Ren rose from her chair, glad to be concluding this irritating interview. She strode out the front door with Mitsune following and babbling behind her about what an honor her visit and her request was. Ren was glad when she was no longer could hear her.  
She quickly made her way across the compound to Sohma Kurosawa's clinic. She entered without bothering to knock. Kurosawa was talking to one of his patients, a young, pregnant Sohma woman who looked to be about six months along. Kurosawa excused himself from his patient and led Ren into his private office. After shutting the door, Kurosawa turned to face Ren, his face flushed with anger.

"Sohma Ren, to what do I owe the honor of your presence? As you can see, I was in the middle of a consultation with a patient." Ren smiled, delighted to have nettled Kurosawa.  
"Oh Kurosawa, I'm so sorry. I do hope I wasn't interrupting anything important," Ren said with exaggerated regret.

"You do have a point in keeping me from my patients, don't you Ren?" Kurosawa felt more impatient with the woman than usual. His appointments were already running behind by forty-five minutes and at this rate he wasn't likely to get home for dinner until eight o'clock.

"I thought you might like to know that I have arranged for Sohma Mitsune's son, the rat, to live with Akito. Perhaps she will behave less like the animal that she is with a real animal as her playmate." Ren laughed inwardly when she saw Kurosawa's face flush redder with anger at her reference to Yuki as an animal. Calming himself, Kurosawa nodded slowly.

"A companion will help Akito-san out immensely. Perhaps it will make up for the lack of affection she receives from her mother." Ren shot him an annoyed glare.

"Save your sermons for someone who cares, Kurosawa. You and I both know I only had that thing for Akira's pleasure, and with Akira dead, I have no further use for it. Let yourself and the other Sohmas fawn all over the bitch; to me she is nothing." Ren strode towards the door, intent on leaving. She paused before exiting.

"If I were you, Kurosawa, I would worry more about my own place in the Sohma family and less about Akito. Some may consider your concern an overstepping of the bounds of propriety. You might want to consider where your allegiances lie, and just who really is the head of this family; the out of control child…" Kurosawa cut in and didn't let her finish her sentence.

"…or the out of control widow? I think I will take my chances with the child. At least with Akito, there is a chance she will mature into a sensible, intelligent adult. Clearly it is already too late in your case." Kurosawa opened the door for Ren. "Good day, Ren," he said with a finality that left it clear that their meeting had ended. Ren's face ran cold with her rage and she stormed out the door without looking at Kurosawa. Kurosawa shook off his disgust with Ren and looked at his watch. He was definitely going to be late for dinner.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5-I do not own Fruits Basket**

**My apologies on the delay in updating. Both my daughter and I have been badly ill which resulted in visits to the hospital and urgent care centers and numerous doctors over the last two weeks. As you can imagine, this interrupted my writing (as well as hers) tremendously. Everyone is feeling better now, and I will try to update more frequently. Also, I may be leaving my job soon (which is where I do all my writing) and this may change the frequency of my updates as well. I will try to write as many chapters as I can in this story before that happens so that I can try to finish it. I know I will finish my story "All's Fair in Love and War" since that one is shorter, but I'm a bit worried about this one which is looking like it's going to be very long!**

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Akito sat leaning out her window watching the birds flitting about from tree to tree. She often spent much time looking out this window, watching as the other Sohmas scurried about, living their normal, daily lives. Sometimes she imagined what it must be like to be able to go about freely, experiencing all that life had to offer. A young woman in a freshly starched maid's uniform hurried by, clutching a small package wrapped in brown paper and tied off with twine. She glanced nervously at her watch, and then picked up her pace slightly and hurried towards the front gate. Akito watched her until she could no longer see her past the myriad buildings and trees that dotted the Sohma compound. She imagined the woman's internal dialogue as she rushed away with her package. "Oh I must hurry! Shinobu-san said that this package must be delivered to Chihiro Seta-san before noon and it's already past eleven!" Or perhaps the package was a birthday present she was mailing to her mother. Akito's stomach knotted and her chest grew tight at that thought. She wondered what it would be like to have the sort of relationship with her mother that would include the exchange of presents at birthdays. She wondered what it would be like to have any sort of positive relationship with her mother.

The sound of her sitting room door sliding open distracted Akito from her thoughts, and she turned and looked over her shoulder to see who was entering the room. Her maid stood there with a tall, beautiful blond woman and a small,frightened-looking silver haired boy. She felt a warmth spread through her heart that began pulsing and humming as it sang through her veins and spread to every limb. The little boy's violet eyes welled up and his lower lip began to quiver. Akito opened her arms to him and he began to cry. The blond woman's beautiful face twisted into a grotesque mask of annoyance.

"Yuki!" she chided him severely, "Quit crying and go greet the head of the family. I will not have you humiliating me." The child looked up at her with wide, frightened eyes that pleaded silently for comfort and understanding.

"That is how all of the juuneshi who have met him responded, Ma'am. Even the older ones cried when they first were brought into Akito-san's presence," said the maid in a placating tone. The woman looked contemptuously at the maid as though she was disgusted that the woman had even dared to speak to her, and then she directed her attention back to the boy.

"You are to stay here with Akito, Yuki, and be his companion. I expect you to obey everything the head of the family says. Do not do anything to dishonor your father or me. Do you understand?" The boy looked up at her with his wide, tear-rimmed eyes and nodded. His mother turned then to Akito, bowed obsequiously, and then began to head for the door. Yuki tried to grasp her hand as she walked away, but she pulled it sharply away from him and left without looking back. The maid bowed to Akito and then followed the woman, sliding the door shut behind her. Akito turned to the boy.

"You are Yuki," she said simply. He nodded at her, his eyes still brimming with tears. "Your hair is silver, like a rat's fur. You must be the rat." He nodded again, still mutely observing her. She felt irritated by his continuing silence. "You can talk can't you?" she asked impatiently.

"Y-y-yes, Akito-san," he stammered. She smiled at him again.

"Good. Then let's go play outside. It's been a while since I've played outside." She grabbed his hand and ran for the door, half dragging the startled boy until he could catch up to her.

She was excited. It had been too long since she had had a playmate. She had spent too many long, lonely days alone in her room since Shigure and the others had gone back to school. She had become so accustomed to the painfully polite indifference of the servants and the outright hostility of her mother that she felt uncertain of how she should interact with Yuki; but she also wasn't going to let this opportunity to play and have fun slip through her fingers.

As she and Yuki ran out the front door of the main house and into the grassy and tree-shaded courtyard. She saw a red rubber ball lying deserted in the corner of the garden, half hidden under the foliage of a rhododendron bush and she scooped it up.

"Hey Yuki!" she shouted. The boy was at the other end of the courtyard, running to catch up with her. "Catch!" she shouted and she tossed the ball at him. The ball bounced off ground in front of him and laughing, he ran to get it as it bounced away. When he caught the ball, he threw it back to her and she jumped up and caught it.

Akito laughed happily. She ran over to Yuki and hugged him. The boy was at first startled, and then surprised. He looked at her questioningly and she could read his confusion in his eyes.

"We can hug each other because we are both a part of the juuneshi bond," she explained to him. His eyes lit with understanding. He shyly hugged her back. Akito enjoyed the contact of the hug, but she was eager to get playing again. She broke free of his hug and started kicking the ball around the courtyard.

He ran after her and they continued running and playing outside. Unnoticed by either of them, Kurosawa and Ren watched them playing from the window of the main house.

"As you can see, I have taken care of your little problem Kurosawa," Ren said lightly, turning her gaze on to the doctor. Kurosawa ignored her, continuing to watch the children's play. Ren frowned at his lack of attention and she placed her hand lightly on his arm.

"You could show a little more gratitude, Kurosawa," she said coaxingly. "Now we don't have to worry about Akito feeling lonely and taking it out on the help." Kurosawa turned and looked at her without making an effort to feign his disdain for her.

"I should hardly be expected to praise you for doing a duty you shouldn't have had to be coerced into performing in the first place." Her eyes narrowed and glittered dangerously. "Still, I think you chose well in selecting Mitsune's son Yuki as a companion for Akito," he admitted grudgingly. Ren relaxed her expression into her slow, seductive smile.

"Why Kurosawa, I do believe that is the first time you've ever said something complimentary to me." She ran her hand softly over Kurosawa's arm, enjoying the feeling of revulsion she felt rolling off of him in waves. He turned and faced Ren, effectively removing his arm from her caress.

"Don't get too accustomed to it," he said in a tightly controlled voice. "It's not likely to occur again any time soon." He bowed and took leave from her. Ren watched him as he walked briskly away, laughing softly to herself. Few things distracted her better from her Akira's death than making Akito miserable; but tormenting Kurosawa was almost as effective. She watched Kurosawa's tight little ass in his gray dress slacks as he walked away, and a slow, dangerous smile played across her lips. Tormenting Kurosawa had some very interesting possibilities that she hadn't previously considered.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6- Warning Do not read if you cannot emotionally cope with depictions of child abuse. This chapter was really upsetting to write. I felt like I had to in order to explain how messed up and abusive Akito was to become, but it was painful for me to write. I apologize if it upsets anyone. I really hurt me to write it! I do not own Fruits Basket**

Ren yawned and stretched out on her chaise in her sitting room. It had been over a year since Akira had died. She felt a sharp, stabbing pain drive through her heart and threatened to overwhelm her mind. She quickly tried to focus her mind on something, anything to not have to deal with her sense of loss. She heard laughing coming from outside and she arose and went to her window to see who was out there. She saw Mitsune's rat child and Akito playing under the large cherry tree where she and Akira used to sit together. She felt an irrational sense of rage building deep inside of her as she watched the little bitch laughing and smiling while she had to sit her in her room alone without her love Akira. Ren stormed out of her room and sharply grabbed the arm of the first maid she came upon. The woman looked up at her with an expression of confused fear.

"Go outside and bring me Akito!" she snarled at her. The maid, happy to have any excuse to remove her from Ren's presence, fled down the hallway to find Akito. She returned shortly with the girl.

Ren looked down at the child, her lip curling with contempt. She seemed taller than she had been last time Ren had had her brought to her. She must be nearly six now, Ren thought to herself.

"Well look at you," she said softly, standing up and walking over to girl, deliberately intimidating her with her looming presence. Akito's face was very drawn and tense as she stared at her mother, watching to see what she was planning to do to her. "You looked so happy playing outside with your little rat friend that I just felt like I had to see you today, Akito." Ren said laughing softly.

"Every time I see you, you are pulling that little rat around like you have a ring through his nose." She walked slowly past the child and came around behind her, knowing she made Akito feel vulnerable and nervous when she did so. She leaned down and spoke softly in her ear. "Are you afraid that if you let your little pet out of sight, he might run away?"

Akito said nothing and just kept looking straight ahead; but Ren saw her jaw tighten and knew she had hit a nerve. She laughed again and walked over to her chaise and laid back in it, watching Akito all the while. "Poor Akito, all your little juuneshi friends leave you in the end, don't they? I don't notice Shigure coming over as often any more. Did he tire of your neediness and tempers already?"

Akito's eyes flashed and she began to tremble with her rage. "Shigure, Ayame, Hatori, and Kureno are all in school and you know it!" she screamed at her mother. Ren laughed.

"Oh, is that what they are telling you?" Akito glared balefully at Ren, but refused to be baited. "I wonder how long it will take for Yuki to grow tired of your temper and leave you too…" Akito just smiled smugly at her.

"Yuki will never leave me. The bond of the juuneshi will make him always love me." Ren just laughed.

"Oh yes, how could I forget the precious juuneshi bond? Akito, when are you going to realize that the only reason Yuki stays with you is because his mother gave him away to you and he has nowhere else to go? Yuki doesn't really care for you, he's just doing what he is told." Akito's eyes welled up with tears and she grabbed the large crystal vase filled with orchids that stood on the occasional table by where she stood. She threw the vase at Ren, but rage made her aim go wide and the vase shattered against the wall in an explosion of glass, water and stems to the left of where Ren sat. Ren stood up quickly and marched over to Akito and grabbed her by the arm.

"You're a destructive little bitch aren't you? But I'm not one of your servants that will let you get away with that sort of behavior. You're a wicked, hateful piece of garbage and you need to learn that there is nothing special about you to allow you to behave that way."

Ren dragged the kicking and screaming child to her closet and flung her against the wall. Akito crumpled into a heap on the floor sobbing. Ren opened the drawer to the chest of drawers that was against the wall and she withdrew a small leather flail from it and she snapped the small whip against the wood dresser. Akito looked up abruptly at the cracking sound and her eyes widened in fear.

Without saying a word, Ren brought the flail down on Akito, the multiple leather straps biting into the flesh on the side of her face and neck. Akito screamed in pain clutching her cheek and cowering against the back wall of the closet. Ren just looked down at her cruelly. Akito stared up at her mother in terror, she began to whimper, "Please…don't hit me again…Mommy please!"

"You are nothing, Akito," she brought the straps down hard on Akito's shoulder and the child began to cry and she tried to curl into a fetal position to protect her face from the straps. "You are less than nothing." She raised the flail and brought it down harder against Akito's back, splitting the fabric of her kimono. "You are not necessary. Nobody wants or needs you." Ren continued flailing the whip against the child's back and head while Akito wailed and sobbed in terror. "You should be dead." Ren beat the child relentlessly for about five minutes until her arm tired and she felt her anger dissipating.

Ren looked down at the shivering, sobbing child with disgust. She could see through the tears in Akito's kimono that blood was welling up from the welts on her back. Ren placed the flail back in the drawer and she walked over to where the child lay quivering and she kicked her in the ribs.

"Get up, you useless piece of shit. You're going to bleed on my carpet." Akito stumbled to her feet and stood trembling in front of Ren. "If someone asked what happened to you Akito, you tell them you fell out of a tree and the branches lashed you." She laughed cruelly, "Not that anyone would care if you were hurt. Everyone hates you; I know I do." She grabbed the child by the arm and marched her out of the closet. "Get out of here, you make me sick." Akito stood in the doorway and stared at her mother in fear, and then she ran out the door and stumbled down the hallway.

Ren stood in her room and looked over to where the fragments of the broken vase lie upon the ground. She walked out into the hall and called for a maid. The same young maid she had yelled at earlier came running to her quickly and bowed with alacrity.

"The stupid child has broken a vase in one of her rages. Clean it up." The maid began to hurriedly clean up the shards of glass and crushed flowers while Ren reclined in her chaise once more. With Akito gone, she felt bored and restless. Then she thought of Kurosawa and she smiled to herself. Perhaps he could provide her with some amusement.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7- I do not own Fruits Basket. If I did, I would have a more interesting and fulfilling career. I feel like this story is rapidly becoming the Ren-Kurosawa show. I may soon have to wrap up the Ren/Kurosawa sub-plot that is developing so I can focus again on Akito. **

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Akito sat drawing pictures at her desk, vaguely aware of a sense of agitation. It had been at least three months since her mother had taken the whip to her and beat her bloody, and to put it mildly, she had not felt quite right since. The things that used to bring her joy and comfort somehow seemed to lack the charge that they had once held for her. She found herself cringing and feeling nervous anytime she began to have fun, as though she were waiting for Ren to creep up behind her and attack her for being happy. Because in spite of being a child, Akito knew without a doubt that her mother's attacks were provoked by seeing her happy; so long as she remained miserable, Ren would continue to ignore her and not punish her.

Yuki sat just to the right of her, coloring in a picture in his Mogeta coloring book. He coughed slightly. Akito shuddered as his cough sent little ripples of irritation up her back, but she chose to ignore it. Every sudden movement or sound seemed to make her wince or jump fearfully as she waited for Ren to materialize behind her whip in hand. Focusing, she moved her hand very slowly and carefully, trying to keep the line she was tracing with her pencil perfectly straight. Yuki coughed again, but harder. Her hand jerked slightly as she twitched in response to his cough, spoiling the symmetry of her sketch. She sat staring at her marred drawing, feeling a queer, shuddering rage slowly building, creeping up from the pit of her stomach, rising like the mercury in a thermometer. The pressure of her fury felt as though it were too much to contain, and she turned on him wrathfully and slapped him hard across his face, feeling the energy of her rage dissipating in the wake of her violent act.

"Can't you stop coughing? What is wrong with you? Why are you always so sick?" she yelled, her eyes dilated and filled with anger. Yuki looked surprised and hurt by Akito's unprovoked attack, but having learned from his mother's temper that passivity prevents further abuse, he didn't say anything and he made an effort to choke down his cough. Akito turned back to her drawing, carefully erasing the uneven line and starting to trace it all over again, still feeling edgy and irritable. She thought back to what her mother had told her: that Yuki only stayed with her because his mother had given him to her. She felt a sense of desperation and loneliness wash over her, and with effort, she pushed the thought out of her mind and focused on her drawing.

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Kurosawa looked up to see Ren walking toward his clinic and he stifled an exasperated sigh. _God, what does this woman want now,_ he thought to himself with some degree of irritation. Ren had taken to dropping in his office and pestering him on a regular basis. She opened the door and smiled devilishly when she saw him sitting at the desk.

"Just who I wanted to see this afternoon," she purred as she walked up and sat on the edge of his desk, crossing her legs so as to show them off to their full advantage. Kurosawa didn't bother to look; he just tugged some papers she had sat upon out from under her and placed them on the other side of his desk.

"What is it I can do for you today Ren?" he asked in a bored voice. He had learned that a lack of response on his part made her lose interest and leave sooner. She smiled at him, taking in his broad shoulders and his handsome face and finding them to her approval.

"Actually Kurosawa, I was hoping you could do a favor for me," she said lightly. "I am supposed to attend a banquet being sponsored by the Sohma Corporation and I need an escort." He felt a sinking sensation in his stomach at her words.

"Surely there is someone else from the family whom you can bring. As you know, I often have appointments until seven in the evening. That would not provide me the necessary time to ready myself to escort you to a formal function," he spoke slowly and with a detached manner, hoping to disguise the discomfort he felt even thinking of having to attend a social event as her escort. Ren smiled, watching the emotions flicker across his face before he managed to erect his calm façade. She knew just how unappetizing her request was to him, and that only increased her pleasure in tormenting him.

"Oh Kurosawa, I'm so sorry," she said with exaggerated regret. "Both Keitaro and Komei are unavailable that night, and Yamoto has told me that he must stay home as his wife is due to deliver soon and he wants to be there if she needs assistance. I'm afraid that leaves you, Kurosawa." She paused dramatically, "or maybe your son could escort me instead? He's looks as though he's about seventeen years old. That's old enough to serve as an escort." She smiled smugly, knowing full well how much Kurosawa would dislike the idea of her being anywhere near his son.

Predictably, Kurosawa saw no merit in her suggestion whatsoever. Every aspect of his being recoiled with revulsion at the idea of Ren accompanying his son anywhere, and he struggled to maintain his appearance of calm detachment.

"Ren, my son Hatori is just turned fifteen years old, and certainly not an appropriate choice of escort for the widow of the head of the Sohma family, particularly since he is one of the juuneshi and prone to transforming into his cursed form when he is exhausted, ill or experiences full body contact with a woman, three likely potentialities that could occur in a social setting," he said calmly, while inwardly seething that she would stoop so low as to try to manipulate him into accompanying her by threatening to bring Hatori in his stead. Ren merely smiled lazily at him.

"Hmm…as tall and handsome as your son appears, I was certain he was older," she said lightly, deliberately baiting him. "I'll have to keep an eye out for him when he comes of age." Her smile broadened as she saw the muscle in Kurosawa's jaw begin to twitch.

"But for this event, I am afraid you will have to be my escort as there are no other suitable escorts and not attending is not an option. We don't want the Sohma family to lose face now do we?" She smiled, knowing he would not risk embarrassing the clan publicly in spite of his personal aversion to her. "I will expect you to pick me up next Thursday at 7:30pm." Kurosawa's eyes darkened with undisguised anger as he realized he was trapped. She drank in the sheer hatred that he directed towards her, reveling in her ability to force Kurosawa to do her bidding, feeling herself becoming aroused by the power she held over him. She scooted off the edge of his desk and began to walk, hips swaying slightly, towards the door. Before she exited, she paused thoughtfully.

"Oh, and Kurosawa, be sure you wear your finest kimono, haori and hakama. This is a very formal event and I don't care to be embarrassed by having my escort show up in a lab coat." Smiling wickedly, she turned heel and strutted out the door, clearly pleased at having maneuvered him into such an onerous and awkward situation.

Kurosawa felt the beginnings of a migraine throbbing at his temple, and he again wondered to himself exactly what he had done to deserve the dubious honor of being the Sohma elder Ren enjoyed harassing the most. He had found himself on the receiving end of her negative attention more and more over the last several months, often being put in the ridiculous position of having to fend off her unwelcome and obvious attempts to seduce him. He didn't even think the woman actually had feelings for him; he strongly suspected it was his ill concealed contempt for her that made him such a desirable target.

He sighed and brought his attention back to the medical report he was trying to complete for one of his patients. It looked as though he had best get caught up in his paperwork because Thursday was going to be a stressful and busy day.

**

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AN: Ren is truly a wicked, messed up lady (if one can call her a lady!) She is quite out of control. I don't even feel like I am writing her; she's writing herself! She's managed to take over Akito's story quite against my will!**

**As most of you probably know from reading the sidebars in the manga, Hatori's father dies when Hatori is fifteen. The dilemma I find myself in is that this means I am going to have to kill off Kurosawa at some point in the near future and I don't want to! What do you guys think I should do? Follow the manga to the letter and kill Kurosawa? Or break free and get a little AU and let him live? Let me know what you think! Magpie**


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